Busyness v Stillness
Chaotic v Calmness
Stress v Peace
Agitation v Tranquility
Noise v Quietness

As I sat with Jude with our feet overhanging a cliff overseeing the beauty of God's creation all around us in the East Coast Mountains, the stillness and quietness reminded me; I can not be the person I should be without times of quietness.

As we look at the life of Jesus in the four biographies (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) we see that God in human flesh continually planned, sought out times of quietness, alone-ness, away from the crowds. We are reminded: We will not become the person God wants us to become without solitude.

How has this annual all-church month of August of rest, satisfaction and inspiration going for you?
I am concerned that we slow down, quiet down and gear down our lives so that daily and weekly we carve out time for quietness, solitude, thought, prayer, meditation, and soul searching. 
Oh, how much frustration will begin to fade away . . . 
How insignificant petty differences will seem . . . 
How big God will become and how small our troubles will appear! 
Satisfaction, security, peace, confidence and inspiration will move right on in.

This is what Isaiah, the prophet, meant when he wrote:
The fruit of that righteousness will be peace,
Its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.
Then My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, and in secure homes, and in undisturbed places of rest. Isa 32:17–18

God's still, small voice will never shout. God's methods do not change. He is longing for your attention, your undivided and full attention. He wants to talk with you in times of quietness about your need for understanding, love, compassion, patience, self-control, a calm spirit, genuine humility, and wisdom. He will wait and wait until you finally sit in silence and listen.  

Seeking quietness daily and weekly,
Pastor Chris

The Pastor and one of his daughter’s ponder...

How important is time off, time away, vacation, recreation?
What is your plan for this?

God created the world in six days, and then He rested on the seventh. He set an example of the life we should live as His followers: work hard and then rest hard.

Read, re-read and deeply think through God’s message to you in Exodus 20:8-11.

In the Old Testament, the Israelites were commanded not to work on the Sabbath—not even collect the bread that God provided during the exodus—so that their dependence on God through rest would be a testament of God’s provision for them to the surrounding, watching nations. 

But this call to rest is NOT a call to be lazy. In Matthew 11:28-29, Jesus calls all who are burdened and heavy laden to find rest in Him. We are to pick up His yoke (possibly a metaphor for one person’s relationship to another) and learn from Him and join in His work.
It is a call to leave our own ways of trying to earn God’s favor, and recognizing that it is through Christ alone that we are made right and able to have a relationship with the God of the universe! So true rest is found in spending time away from human made means for earning money or favor, and choosing to have a fresh encounter with Jesus. During this fresh encounter with Jesus, He loves to re-create our souls, our hearts, our minds and our bodies. He wants us fully energized and alive in Him in order to give all of what He gave us away. Then re-create us again.

If rest means having a fresh encounter with Jesus, we are called to rest daily, weekly, monthly and yearly in different ways.

• Daily, what do you do to re-create your soul? Possibly, set time aside to hear directly from God through His Word and talk with Him. Relationships require two-way conversation.
• Weekly, what do you do to re-create your soul? Possibly, take a day off to extend that time with Him—maybe focusing the whole day on God himself—and to remember that our God provides.
• What do you do monthly to re-create your soul?
• What do you do yearly to recreate your soul? What vacations do you take? What inspiring experiences do you do? Who do you need to connect with?

Have you learned that Jesus is the best Soul Re-creator?

When we take time to rest in a fresh encounter with God, we will be able to have fresh encounters with both Christians and those far from Christ in deeper and more meaningful ways.

Letting The Soul Re-creator refresh our souls together,
Pastor Chris & Anikka